An undocumented immigrant is moved from a van to a jet chartered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Getty

May 27, 2010

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Police chiefs from several of Arizona's largest cities say the state's tough new immigration law will help criminals — echoing a criticism expressed by Attorney General Eric Holder. Illegal immigrants who are crime victims or witnesses will be less likely to go to the police, said the Arizona police chiefs, because the new law requires officers to demand papers from anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. But several Arizona sheriffs support the crackdown, saying most illegal immigrants are already afraid to cooperate with police. Will the the new law make it harder for officers to do their jobs? (Watch a Fox report about Arizona's law and crime rates)

The status quo isn't working: As the sheriffs say, "cooperation from illegal aliens is already low," says Heather MacDonald in National Review. But the real hole in the police chiefs' argument is the "tired" assertion that it's up to the federal government to fix things. Without a sudden burst of commitment from Washington, there's no way to solve the illegal immigration problem "without also involving local law enforcement.""Big-city police chiefs and the Arizona law"